By: Larry Higdon, TSHA Director of Government Relations, and the TSHA Legislative Team

During 2023, the Texas Speech-Language-Hearing Association (TSHA) Executive Board changed the name of the Vice President (VP) for Social and Governmental Policy to the Vice President for Advocacy. Vice President Bobbie Kay Turkett initiated the change to better depict the overall work being done on behalf of the Association by the many members of the committees under this VP, including the TSHA Political Action Committee (PAC) and TSHA Legislative Team. By definition according to the Cambridge Dictionary, “Advocacy is public support for or recommendation of a particular cause or policy.” Why is advocacy important in life and to TSHA? It helps people, including professionals, become more involved in important decisions about their life and those they serve. Advocates help people understand their rights and their options and support individuals to make informed decisions. We help people live the lives they want to live!

It is vitally important that the leadership be visibly active leaders in engaging every member of TSHA in grassroots advocacy with their State Senator and Representative, local school boards, and other elective officers. It can be intimidating to be an advocate, but our professionals meet new people and patients every day with a problem, identify the issue, and tell them how to “fix it.” There is little difference between our daily professional activities and advocating for our professions with our state legislators. The size of our membership may not be large enough to make major changes, but if we all do something, we are big enough that we can make a difference.

The TSHA PAC works hard to raise funds so they can reward legislators who influence legislation of importance to the professions and who carry our bills. Unfortunately, those funds are now very limited because the Association no longer has very many in-person meetings, which is where the PAC raises most of their money. While we may not be able to contribute enough money to change a legislator’s vote, it does give our legislative team access to legislators so we can ensure they have heard our messages and requests.

The message here is to donate to the PAC! Be sure our Texas legislators know we matter and we vote! To help your TSHA PAC, please try to do the following:

• Register To Vote: Legislators know if you voted in recent elections.
• Know Your Legislators: Read Capitol Watch for a link if uncertain.
  • Attend: At least one of their fundraisers
  • Donate: At least once but multiple times is better, along with a handwritten note
  • Tell Your Story: “I am a speech-language pathologist (SLP)/audiologist living and working in your district. I provide quality care for citizens in your district.”
  • Ask: What can you do to help them? The answer may be put out yard signs, make calls, etc.
  • Share: The need(s) of the professions and your clients in the district
  • Express Gratitude: Thank them for their work in the legislature for their district.

88^th Session of the Texas Legislature
The TSHA Legislative Team reviewed more than 7,000 bills filed this session for their applicability to issues related to the professions of speech-language pathology and audiology. After reviewing the multitude of bills, the Legislative Team actively monitored and endeavored to make an impact on more than 176 bills that had the potential to affect the professions. Below is a synopsis of the many bills the Team advocated for during committee hearings at the Capitol. Members attended and testified on many bills during the session. The Capitol Watch newsletter attempted to keep members informed and to seek their input through email/phone calls to legislators as bills were being heard. Grassroots input from the district is much more impactful when seeking a legislator to vote in a manner you support.

INTERSTATE COMPACT

• Support HB 1875 (Rep. Ryan Guillen), Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Interstate Compact. Passed in the House and failed in the Senate when Sen. Kolkhorst blocked all healthcare-related compact bills assigned to her committee. Bill was important to help resolve a severe shortage of speech-language pathologists in schools, hospitals, universities, and clinics. The bill facilitates the ability to practice in multiple compact states. There is no cost to the state of Texas, and it is optional for licensees to apply for compact privileges.

EDUCATION

• Support Teacher Pay Raise Legislation
  • Add speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and audiologists to any bill providing for a teacher pay raise. SLPs and audiologists are an integral part of the education team for children with communication and related disorders and particularly for those children with special needs.
  • The “Education Code” does not include speech-language pathologists and audiologists.
  • There is a severe shortage of speech-language pathologists in the public schools. A 2022 TSHA/Texas Council of Administrators of Special Education (TCASE) survey showed 89% of schools reported a shortage and 91% indicated a need for additional positions.
  • SLPs and audiologists provide more Medicaid School Health and Related Services (SHARS) revenue for school districts than any other professionals.
• Oppose School Vouchers/School Choice. Multiple bills supporting vouchers have not passed in the House (and continued to fail through all four special sessions).
  • Prevent any transfer of public funds using vouchers, education savings accounts, or corporate tax credits to private schools or individuals.
  • TSHA embraces parents as partners in their child’s education.
  • Oppose the use of vouchers to dilute funding for special education.
  • Uncertainty of how many children, type, and severity of disabilities to expect for enrollment annually is an administrative and staffing nightmare for districts.
  • Private schools do not necessarily have to comply with federal regulations, e.g., Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
• Support Teacher Retirement Funding. Bill passed giving retired teachers a raise.
  • TSHA supports increases in teacher retirement funding legislation.
  • TSHA follows the lead of TRTA on retirement related legislation.

MEDICAID/SHARS

• Support Expansion of Medicaid services
• Support Medicaid “express lane” enrollment options (failed)
• Support increased funding specifically for service rates paid to providers (not heard in committee)
• Support specifically increased funding for SHARS (failed in committee)
• Support Medicaid funding issues in the Senate Finance and House Appropriations Committees

OTHER BILLS OF SPECIAL INTEREST TO SLPs AND AUDIOLOGISTS

• Support SB 619 Sen. Nathan Johnson, newborn Infant Hearing Screening. Facilitates newborn hearing screening program
• Support SB 51 Sen. Judith Zaffirini, enhances health benefit coverage of hearing aids for children
• Support SB 55 Sen. Judith Zaffirini, study of services for autism and funding
• Support HB 1111 Rep. Terry Meza, study of validity of services and payment for autism. Not heard in committee
• Support HB 667 Rep. Ann Johnson, licensure of music therapists. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) has submitted more restrictive amendment language to prevent encroachment into communication and related disorders services. Failed to pass
• Support HB 1390 Rep. Matt Shaheen, telemedicine/telepractice services reimbursement. Maintain payments for telepractice services

Special Sessions 1-4 Called by Gov. Abbott
Gov. Abbott called four special sessions with the major issue to have the Legislature pass legislation allowing and funding “education savings accounts,” otherwise known as “vouchers.” Since Sine Die at the end of the regular session of the legislature at the end of May, we continue to oppose vouchers in November, along with our colleagues in the Public Schools Coalition and other education associations. Consistent contact with your legislators is still needed on a regular basis to remind them that you (a constituent) are still watching and continue to oppose vouchers by any name.

As teacher pay raises continue to be debated, we are not likely to achieve our goal of being named specifically in any pay raise bill. We have chosen in the past to not be a part of the Education Code. The consensus is that districts will be allowed to distribute some of the monies received from the legislature as they see fit.

For questions or comments, please contact the Texas Speech-Language-Hearing Association (TSHA) Legislative Team. You can reach Larry Higdon, Director of Governmental Relations, at 830-265-0828 or lwhtsha@gmail.com or Mark J. Hanna, Legal and Legislative Counsel, at 512-477-6200 or mhanna@markjhanna.com. VP for Advocacy Bobbie Kay Turkett can be reached at government@txsha.org.